You are here

National Medal of Arts

Suzanne Farrell

2003 National Medal of Arts Recipient

Tabs

Bio

Suzanne Farrell was one of ballet choreographer and director George
Balanchine's most celebrated muses. During her 28 years on stage, primarily
with Balanchine's New York City Ballet, she danced a repertory of more
than one hundred ballets. Nearly a third of those were created for her
by Balanchine, including the "Diamonds" section of Jewels, Chaconne
and Mozartiana. Other choreographers such as Jerome Robbins and
Maurice Bejart also created original works for her. Farrell's performances
of many ballets including Apollo, Concerto Barocco and Symphony
in C are legendary. She is a repetiteur for the George Balanchine
Trust, staging his work for ballet companies around the world. Since the
fall of 2000, Farrell has directed The Suzanne Farrell Ballet at Washington,
D.C.'s Kennedy Center and has been a tenured professor of dance at Florida
State University in Tallahassee.